In 1993, Hong Kong film director Wang Jing received a challenge that made him both excited and headache - to shoot a martial arts movie called "New Shaolin Five Ancestors". The investors of this project have clear requirements for the cast, especially the protagonist must be played by Jet Li. For Jet Li at that time, this request was undoubtedly a high-profile endorsement, because he had already become a well-known martial arts star with the "Once Upon a Time" series of movies, and his fame could almost be described as a "superstar".

But problems also arise. According to the setting of the original script, Jet Li needs to play one of the roles of the "Five Ancestors of Shaolin" in the movie. However, the core premise of this movie is that there must be five characters with strong martial arts, each of whom must be able to match Jet Li in martial arts, in order to highlight the spirit of the "Five Ancestors of Shaolin" between them. However, in Hong Kong at that time, there were very few action actors who could stand side by side with Jet Li, let alone let five actors play the role together, and the issue of salary was also a practical problem that director Wang Jing had to consider.

Faced with such a problem, Wang Jing was not defeated by the problem, but gave full play to his unique creativity. He decided to shift the focus of the story and changed the role of the five ancestors to five children, while Jet Li no longer played one of the five ancestors, but played the role of Hong Xiguan. This adjustment not only solves the problem of matching action actors, but also makes the movie more emotionally moving. In particular, the father-son friendship between Jet Li and Hong Wending played by Xie Miao also adds a warm color to the movie.

In "The Five Ancestors of New Shaolin", in addition to Jet Li's performance, another thing that impressed the audience was Chen Jinnan, the chief helmsman played by Liu Songren. Liu Songren's acting skills have always been known for being restrained, and he can convey the inner fluctuations of the characters through delicate eyes and subtle body language. In this film, Liu Songren vividly interpreted Chen Jinnan's handsomeness and inner perseverance, especially when he appeared, his sassy and heroic posture instantly made the audience deeply impressed by this role.

However, because Liu Songren was involved in many projects at that time, he was not able to participate in the filming of "New Shaolin Five Ancestors". When Chen Jinnan and Ma Ninger played by him faced off, Chen Jinnan finally unfortunately "received a boxed lunch". This made many viewers feel regretful, because although Liu Songren's Chen Jinnan has only appeared for a short period of time, the charm he shows has already firmly attracted the attention of the audience. Some viewers even jokingly said: "The chief helmsman is here, the chief helmsman is gone", which also became a small joke at that time.

In addition, director Wang Jing himself also made a cameo role in "The Five Ancestors of New Shaolin" - Fang Shiyu. However, this version of Fang Shiyu is slightly different from the handsome and dashing hero image in the traditional impression. Fang Shiyu played by Wang Jing has a slightly plump figure, and this image was once jokingly called "the fat version of Fang Shiyu" by some audiences. However, this image did not hinder the charm of the film itself, because it brought a different kind of lightness and humor to the audience, and it also became a highlight of the movie.

儘管《新少林五祖》在拍攝過程中面臨了不少挑戰，但影片的最終呈現卻獲得了相當不錯的反響。電影在香港上映後，票房高達1938萬港幣，在臺灣地區也排名前十。這部影片通過將動作、喜劇和家國情懷巧妙融合，成為了香港武俠電影中的一部經典之作。特別是李連杰與謝苗在電影中的“雙槍對戰”，成為了這部電影最為經典的場面之一，這一場景至今仍然為無數影迷津津樂道。

Director Wang Jing's evaluation of Jet Li is still full of respect to this day. He once said in an interview: "I think Jet Li is the best, and even Jackie Chan can't play as well as Jet Li." Wang Jing's appreciation of Jet Li is not limited to his martial arts skills, he values Jet Li's versatility more, especially in the use of weapons, Wang Jing believes Jet Li is one of the most outstanding actors at that time.

Jet Li's martial arts is not only a display of strength, but also an art, which can add emotion, philosophy and beauty to the fight, which is why he has been able to stand out in so many action movies and become a "martial arts master" in the eyes of fans around the world.

"New Shaolin Five Ancestors" is not only a classic of Hong Kong martial arts movies, but also carries the emotions and memories of countless fans. It is not just an action movie, but also a film full of human touch, telling the story of the deep friendship between brothers, fathers and sons, master and apprentice. In this movie, we saw the ingenious ideas of director Wang Jing, and also saw the wonderful performances of Jet Li, Liu Songren and other actors.

Perhaps, this is also the reason why "New Shaolin Five Ancestors" has endured for a long time - it is not only a gorgeous action display, but also a profound expression of emotions and ideas. In today's film market, although various special effects, scenes, and actors' performances have their own merits, it is still quite rare to find such a film that has both depth and touches.